Darkness Seduced (Primal Heat Trilogy #2) (Order of the Blade) by Stephanie Rowe Page B

Nothing more he could offer. That was all he had to give: his protection. His ability to protect was what defined him, and he gave it to her.
    Lily turned her head slightly, so her cheek rested against his, and he felt a pulse of absolute rightness at the contact. She smelled sweet, delicate. Innocent. Desire hit him hard in his gut again, and he had to force himself not to turn his head to kiss her. It would take only one move to capture her lips with his, to taste her, to claim her.
    “Gideon.” His name was a whisper in the night, almost angelic the way it drifted off her lips.
    “Yeah, it’s Gideon.” His voice sounded rough and raw in comparison to hers.
    “Why?”
    He rubbed his thumbs over her arms, not sure whether he was touching her for his sake or hers. “Why what?”
    She pressed her face more tightly against him, nuzzling into the crevice between his shoulder and his neck, as if she was trying to crawl inside him and hide. He loved her instinct, her natural inclination to use him for safety.
    “Why did you come for me?” Her voice was muffled, her breath warm.
    “Ana sent us.” It wasn’t the entire story, but it was enough for now. “We’re not here to hurt you. Trust me.” He slid his arms slowly around her waist, needing desperately to hold her, driven mad by the feel of her nestled against him. He felt like the heat from her skin was burning through her thin shirt, and he wanted to tear it off her, destroying that which the rogue Calydon had shredded when he’d violated her.
    “I can’t,” she said. “I can’t trust you.” But even as Lily spoke, she untangled her hands from her belly and found the front of his shirt, clenching tightly. A small sob broke free, twisting his gut into knots. “I’m so tired,” she whispered. “I’m so tired of fighting. I want to go home. My family must think I’m dead—” Her voice broke and anger roared through him at her pain.
    Lily tensed, and he knew she’d felt his fury. He swore and forced it aside, drawing upon five hundred years of practice to pull his shit together. “I know, Lily. I know.” He gently lifted her up and eased her onto his lap, unable to accept the sight of her battered knees on the hard cement any longer.
    Despite the fear he could still feel emanating from her, Lily curled into a tight ball, her bare toes tucked between his thighs, her knees snug against her chest, and her face tucked against her knees as she hugged her legs.
    God, yes. This was right to have her against him, turning herself over to him.
    Gideon pressed his face to her hair, inhaling her scent, drinking it into his soul as if he’d never get another chance. This was his moment: right here, right now, with this woman he didn’t even know in his arms, trusting him when she had no trust left in her soul.
    He started to rub her back, then jerked his hand off when she yelped and twisted, trying to get away. “Shit, sorry.” He cursed himself for pushing too hard.
    “No, it’s okay.” Those mossy green eyes were filled with agony, and apology. “Sorry. It wasn’t you.”
    Apology? Shit, he deserved no apology. “It’s okay,” he said quietly. “Come back.” He pulled her on his lap and rested his cheek against hers, hoping it would work again to sooth her. He needed it to work. He burned to reconnect, to feel her body yield to him again. Her cheek was cold, but her skin was so soft and delicate. So utterly female.
    After a minute, she relaxed and let herself sag against him. He closed his eyes at the contact, at the feel of her body sinking into his. God, it felt good.
    “Glass,” she whispered. “In my back.”
    “Glass?” Gideon couldn’t keep the fury out of his tone, but Lily didn’t flinch this time. She just leaned against him, as if she were too exhausted to fight anymore. He lifted his head to inspect the back of her shirt, scowling at the speckles of blood from when she’d been dragged across the floor by the Calydon. He cursed